Confucianism

Confucian Principles of Good Government

What makes good government? Who should rule and how? What should rulers do to promote good government? On the basis of a positive conception of humans as moral and social beings, not as free and autonomous individuals, Confucius and Mencius sought to address these questions concerning both the ultimate ends and operational means of governance from the perspective of building a harmonious moral community of datong (grand harmony), where robbers, thieves, rebels, and traitors had no place, and hence the outer doors remained open and were not shut. Specifically, they conceived of government as an institutional mechanism to achieve such a community. They endorsed economic prosperity, physical security, and popular trust in government as the three essential substantive components of good government.

To create a harmonious and prosperous community, who should rule? In the Confucian conception of good government, the quality of government depends exclusively on the quality of people in the government. It has very little to do with the way in which institutions are organized or how authority is distributed across the institutions (such as, for example, by separation of powers). Accordingly, Confucius and Mencius advocated an open system of meritocracy by dividing people into the two categories of governors and the governed (The Analects of Confucius, IV 14). To these [Page 400]and other early Confucians, society becomes harmonious only when those who occupy positions of responsibility are the ones with the ability to discharge those responsibilities.

What specific quality is required of those who should govern? Confucianism endorses the possession of virtue—understanding of and commitment to the common good—as the only proper basis for a claim to governmental authority. Accordingly, Confucius and his followers called for government by the virtuous and wise, not by ordinary people. Yet they did not favor the hereditary system of aristocracy. Instead, they advocated a merit-based system of government, which would allow every citizen to take competitive examinations that test virtues and knowledge. Thus, the most talented would rise to the highest offices. This system of meritocracy replaced the rule by hereditary aristocracy in Confucian Asia long before the same was done in the West.

How should rulers govern the state to build a harmonious and prosperous community? Early Confucians advocated the principle of minben as the most important principle of governing. Minben, which originates from the pre-Confucian period, means treating “people” (min) as “roots” (ben). Thus, they form the foundation of the state. To govern according to this principle is, therefore, to govern for the people (min), for their economic prosperity, and for their physical security just as the roots of trees (ben) should be tended (Analects, XIII 9). By embracing ordinary citizens as the roots of government, this principle demands that rulers seek the prosperity and welfare of ordinary citizens as the ultimate end of good government.

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